Page 9. Personal accounts: 1840–1899

Stories from the community

Then there was pitching and tossing, metal pipes and
tin cans going topsy turvey, till one might have thought that
some monstrous whale was crushing the ribs of the iron ship
between its jaws. – Diary of immigrant William McCaw,
1880

In the 19th century, migrants to New Zealand endured
dreadful conditions for several months on sailing ships,
daily facing the possibility of death by malnutrition and
disease, fire, storm, shipwreck and even mutiny.

We asked people around the country to send us stories in
their own words of the journey their ancestors made, to begin
a new life in New Zealand. Here is a selection.

What's your story?

Frustration with their homeland’s depression, and rebellion against an older brother’s authority prompted Samuel and Elizabeth Vanderband Joll to emigrate from Cornwall in 1841. Their voyage was fraught with tension between the ‘emigrant’ and ‘cabin’ class passengers.

George Denton emigrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1855. Like many of his contemporaries, he kept a journal of the voyage. His great-granddaughter has used this lively record to recreate his time on board the China.

The Dellows’ story of arrival in Lyttelton in 1859 has been treasured by their descendants for many years. In 1951, with encouragement from relatives at a party, Charlotte Dellow’s daughter Gertrude Frost wrote this account of their voyage and the challenges they faced as settlers.

Charles Jeffs and his children emigrated in 1864. During their voyage the crew of the sailing ship, Flying Foam, mutinied and the passengers had to help sail the vessel. Les Jeffs (pictured) tells their story.

Two years old and travelling under a false name, Maggie Crawford sailed from the Irish county of Ulster to New Zealand in 1865. The journey was full of dangers – from sickness, to a mutiny by the ship’s sailors, to a daring rescue from a burning ship.

Without parents or prospects, Sven August Nilsson left Sweden for a better life in 1872. He endured great hardships on board the three ships that carried him to New Zealand. Here is the story of his survival against the odds.

Thomas Heath (1852–1940) journeyed from London to New Zealand in 1875 with his wife Eliza and 11 children. A plasterer by trade, Heath also turned his hand to writing. Here is his account of three incidents on the emigrant ship Collingwood, on which he was a cook.